I Hope You Can Endure This
by Salem1991
Summary: The team is summoned down to Georgia when local girls are ending up missing and then found brutally murdered on Lake Lanier. There are no connections, no leads, and worst of all, no suspects. And then, Hotch gets more involved that he had planned on to.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

Of all the ways for this investigation to go, it had to happen like this. Aaron Hotchner's face was pressed against the cold concrete wall and his hands and legs were bound – preventing him from having any chance of escape. Like an awkward weight, he lifted his head from the wall to sit in an upright position. It didn't take long for his head to start pounding at a slow and agonizing drumming tempo. To take a grasp of reality was more difficult than he originally thought to be. The smell of mildew and dirty water filled his sense. Together, the two smelled like old, stale cigarettes. The room he was in was dark; barely lite with a single light bulb hanging from the decaying ceiling. The sounds of dripping water, and scurrying rats made his head buzz. The light bulb above grew into doubles. The burgundy tie around his neck, that once was neat and tied professionally, now was unfastened. His white button-up shirt was grimy and reeked of waste and musty dirt.

It was a sure surprise when Hotch found a girl in the same room with him. Only about six feet away, laid a girl with golden blonde hair. Dried blood lingered down the side of her face and just like him, her hands and feet were bound together. Her frame was pale and emaciated. Hotch wondered how long she had been down here and even if she was still alive. He couldn't tell if she was breathing or not.

Right across the room from Hotch, a metal door suddenly swung open with a long groan before hitting the stone wall. Even with the loud noise from the door, Hotch saw that the girl never stirred an inch.

Right in front of Agent Hotch was the man that his team had been searching for over a week. All the twist and turns of trying to locate and figure out who he was made Hotch's blood boil. He can still see the pinned up pictures of the girls that were kidnapped, mutilated and murdered. Across the man's face was a wicked smile. In his hand was a hunting knife. Its sharp and curved blade shown brightly and flawlessly. It was a new knife – untouched and unused.

Well...

Until now.

Hotch pressed his back against the wall with his hands gripping the rope that held them together and held his head high to stare straight into the killer's eyes. His brown eyes lingered there for a moment before falling on to the girl. With his eyebrows creasing together, he had no choice but to watch the Lake Lanier's Killer walk nonchalantly towards the helpless and unconscious girl.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1 – Let Me Suffer

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The Lake Lanier"s Killer leaned over the girl and lightly ran the tip of the knife over her shoulder. A cloth mask covered his face. It was an dingy white with three ripped holes for the eyes and mouth. Hotch watched that same small that grow bigger. For the first time, the killer looked at Hotch as he continued to run the knife down the girl's body. He gently rolled the girl onto stomach after cutting the rope. He let her arm flopped to the side, kicking up small clouds of dust and dirt. "Abigail," he spoke softy to the girl as pulled up her shirt a bit. "Time to wake up..." Hotch watched the man place the knife on the right side of her abdomen. The girl's head turned to one side, showing she was beginning to wake up.

"So this is the only way you can feel powerful?" The killer's green eyes fell onto Hotch because of his sudden need to speak. "What's wrong? Daddy beat the crap of you one too many times and now you think this is the way retain some dominance back? Honestly, it's extremely pathetic," Hotch continued, hoping to hit a nerve to direct his attention from the girl. "How about your mother? How was your relationship with her? Did she hate you just as much as your father did? Because I would have beat the crap out of you too if I were them. I mean, from the beginning they knew something was wrong with you. You couldn't even hold down a job – resulting you to be the child that wouldn't leave the house. They hated having you around. Your very presence made them squirm. They _hated_ you and every second that you were with them."

The man paused and Hotch hoped his plan had worked. "Do you know my favorite part having these girls in my hands?" Hotch didn't speak. He simply glared in disgust. The killer could feel Hotch's glared and laughed. It wasn't a simple laugh – it was a laugh that came from the deeper part of your throat. A real laugh. "It's how much power you have over them."

"Once my team finds us, all of your sick fantasies of torture will be stopped," Hotch declared as he gripped the rope around his wrists. "I will stop you."

Again, the man laughed. He pulled his eyes from Hotch and went back to the girl. "Then stop me," he challenged the FBI agent before letting the knife slice into the girl's side like a hot knife cutting a stick of butter. The girl's feet that were still tied together began to kick while a small moans gurgled from her throat. Hotch twisted and turned as he pulled at the rope. He could feel his skin begin to peel from the rope burn he was causing on himself. However, he didn't even feel the pain. All he could think about the girl. Right before his eyes, she was suffering and he couldn't do a damn thing.

"Oh, I must be wrong. Your relationship with your mother wasn't abusive or hateful. It was different from your and father's relationship. There was affection between you two," Hotch began, frantic to stop him in any way possible. Even if that meant there was a chance that he was direct his torturous intentions to Hotch. At least that would buy the girl some more time before he was sure his team would find them. The man twisted the knife an entire ninety degrees while it was still deep in her flesh. "Your mother was probably the town's slut – so desperate to get laid that she even slept with her own son."

The man stopped and Hotch saw his shoulders rise with tense while the grip on the knife grew tighter.

Finally.

Hotch had hit a nerve.

Hotch's heart sank and nausea made his stomach twist. Lake Lanier's kill wrenched out of the girl's body in a violent motion causing her eyes to at last flutter up.

There was a pause from the killer as Hotch watched their his eyes lock with hers. At first, she was in a daze of confusion. It take long for the fear and pain to set in. Her neck tightened up, her cobalt blue eyes widened, and a deep breath of air was sucked down her throat.

The hairs on the back of Hotch's neck rose when she let out a heart wrenching scream that echo through the empty room.

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Author's Note: Hey, guys! I hope you liked this chapter! Please let me a review telling me what you thought about this chapter! Thanks!

~Salem~


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